Agitator



Feb. 2-9, 1923. 1,445,935

A. C. DAMAN ET AL AGITATOR Filed NOVv l, 191'? /8 INVENTORS A. C. DAMAN. 7 AND TJ. PENNINGTON 2/ ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 20, 1923.

, OF'DENVER, COLORADO, AND THOIVIA NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT.

AG-ITATOR.

Application filed November 1, 1917. Serial No. 199,682.

To aZZ 'wIwm it may concern 1 Be it known that we, ARTHUR C. DAMAN,

county of New necticut, citizens of the United States, have inventedcertain new and useful ments in Agitators, of which the is aspecification.

terial under treatment is a desideratum.

ur improved agitator is well adapted for use in flotation oreconcentrating processes in which finely ground ore-pulp together with acertain percentage of oil is subjected to violent agititation to producey the introduction of air and through agitation, a froth composed ofbubbles of oil and air in which the mineral particles of the ore areentrapped.

The primary object of our invention is to provi e an agitating appliancewhich during its operation, automatically induces an influx of air intothe material under treatment.

To the above and other ends which will hereina er appear, our inventionconsists in the PIOVlS-IOIL of a rotary stirring the device movement,and the inlet of which connects with a scoop for the entrance of airwhich is drawn in by compression within the scoop as well as by thedisplacement of liquid roduced during the rotary movement 0 the device.

The device is preferably provided with means adapted to increase thedegree of produced by its rotation and an adjustable contrivance isconnected with the agitating device to regulate the inflow of air to anydesired amount.

An embodiment of our invention in its .preferred form is illustrated inthe accom- Improve- V th following panying drawings wherein likecharacters of reference, indicate coresponding parts in the variousviews and in which F igure 1 represents a vertical section throughacontainer equipped with our improved agitating apparatus,

igure 2', a trans-verse section taken along e line 22, igure- 1,

igure 3, a similar section along the line Figure 1, igure 4, an enlargedsectional View through the upper portion of ance which regulates theflow outlet ports,

igure 5,-,a fragmentary sectional view through the stirring device atthe lower end of the agitating appliance, and

Figure 6, a sectional view .of a modified form of the scoop included inthe construction.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the reference 7 containerwhich may be of any suitable size and form although for the purposes ofthe present invention a cylindrical vessel is pre ferred.

'The vessel has in its bottom a central opening connecting with athrough Which the ore pulp or other finely A tubular shaft 4 containerfrom a suitable superposed bearby connection with a convienentlylocatedmotor.

The rotary shaft has at a point above the level of liquid in thecontainer, one or more inlet-ports 7 which connect its bore with a'conduit 3 I During rotation oftheshaft in the direction through the opSecured to the lower end of the shaft adjacent the bottom of thecontainer 15 the stirring device 9 which in its preferred j the armswhereby to ment ment during their rotation.

' plian ce,

form consists of a plurality of impelling blades or arms 10 whichradiate from a hub 12 into which the shaft is fitted.

The arms which are wedge-shaped in cross section are hollow and open atth ends; they are connected with the bore of the shaft by means ofegress ports 13 .at the lower end thereof and they are provide in theirfaces rearward with relation to the direction of rotation of theelement. with longitudinal slots 14 through which the air entering thescoops at the upper end of the shaft, is forcibly ejected into thematerial under treatment. I

The arms are connected by webs 15 which cover the spaces between themand aidin the charge by preventing the above the arms to byliquiddisplacehe webs whose upper surfaces lie in a common plane, Inecessary to move the arms f material in the vessel bypreventing theaerated material from reentering the spaces between aeration [of theflow of vmaterial from enter the spaces caused them.

' The open lower end of the shaft is normally closed bga threadedbushing 16 and a screw-plug 1 When these parts are removed a portion ofthe material introduced into the container through the conduit 3, maenter the bore of the shaft tobe discharged through the slots and openends of,

more .thoroughly im- 1 with the air. 18 at the lowerend of a threadedstem 19 which works in acorrespondi'ngly threaded spider-bearing 2Oatthe upper end of the tubular haft, cooperates with a seat 21 formedwithin the bore of the same at a point between the inlet ports 7 and theegress. slots '14, to regulate the flow of air. The compression producedat theingressopening of the shafts may be increased y providing scoops24 of spiral form as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings.

Having thus described the mechanical construction of our improvedagitating apit will be noted that during rota tion of the element in thedirection of the' arrow 0 in- Figure 2, the compression produced in thescoops, and theliquid displaces produced between the impelling arms I,

- beneath the disk 15, cause rapid downward flow of air through'the.boreof the shaft.

produced between the arms 0 I shaft projecting thereinto and The airwhich is forcibly ejected through the slots of the arms is di usedthrough the continuously agitated material introduced into the vesselthrough the conduit 3, with the result that a thorough intermixture ofthe air and material is obtained.

The froth produced by the aeration and agitation of-the material,entraps the metallic yalues and together with the unaifected gangue,rises tothe surface ofthe liquid the level of which is in theconstruction shown in the drawings, determined by the upper edge of thecontainer across which the supernatant matter overflows into aconveniently disposed receptacle.

Incase the apparatus is use in a process of concentrating ores byflotation, a percentage of oil may be introduced into the upper end ofthe tubular shaft through a pipe 22 or by other convenient means, anintermixed with the air and finely divided ore to form afroth in whichthe mineral constituents of the ore are entrapped.

Inorder to. expedite the impregnation of the pulpwith the air,- the endof the shaft may be partially or completely opened by removal of theplug and bushing to admit a small quantity of material to the interiorof the impelling arms.

The arms are open at their ends to prevent clog ging of theirlongitudinal passages; the amount -of air entering the material throughtheir slots is regulated to any desired. degree by adjustment of thevalve 18 which to this end is provided with a hand-wheel 23, and theliquid displacement f the agitatdrawn into ing device by which the airis and through the tubular shaft, is materiallythe provision of the dlsk15 promoted by the radiating and by the wedge shape of arms.

is susceptible of variations in the construc- 'Having thus described ourimproved agition and arrangement of its parts without any materlaldeparture eiple and natureo fined in the following-- claim:

In an agitating apparatus ore-com :e ntrating processes, the combinationfrom the true prinfor I flotation the invention as del of an ore-pulptank having a t i jowerfiendf,

an ore-pulp inlet, a rotatabl having an.

air-inlet exteriorly thereof and an air-outlet interiorly thereof,anjore-pulp agitating and air-distributing'member' carried by said;

- shaft, adjacent to and communicating with said ore-pulp inlet, andcomprising hollow arms radiating from said shaftand com municating, atone end, with said air-outlet, a disk ncentrically carried by saidv Ishaft immediately above said ailns, each of fixed our signatures in thepresence of two said arms having, in its rear Wall, a longiwitnesses.

tud-inally-extending air-egress slot, and ARTHUR C. DAMAN,

having its front Wall dbwnwardly and for- THOMAS J. PENNINGTON. 5 Wardlyinclined, therebyfimparting to the Witnesses for Daman:

pulp entering the tank an upwalzd m0ve-- Y. CALDWELL,

, L. RHOADES.

disk, facilitating the mixture of the air Witnesses for Pennington: withthe pulp. G. H. ENNETT, Jr., 10 In testimony'whereof we have hereuntoaf- E. E. BOOK.

